


A Certain Kind of Trauma

by fuzzybatbutts



Series: Lessons To Be Learned [4]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games), Titanfall (Video Games)
Genre: Abuse, Blood Kink, Blood and Gore, Claustrophobia, Don't Like Don't Read, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fingerfucking, Forehead Kisses, Gore, I'm Bad At Summaries, M/M, Other, Sorry Not Sorry, The Author Regrets Nothing, Whump, actually i'm not sorry at all, you'll see it's not in a place it should be but it counts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-23 20:57:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18709852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuzzybatbutts/pseuds/fuzzybatbutts
Summary: The games have announced new developments to the arena to bring in competitors with an offer Elliott can't resist. A game of former champions, with new rules and new teams, and a new kind of playing field.





	A Certain Kind of Trauma

**Author's Note:**

  * For [people who commented on the last one](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=people+who+commented+on+the+last+one).



> UPDATE PLEASE READ!!
> 
> So my beta and I have a discord now!! It's specifically for fans of apex who love dark fiction, so if you like this series it'll be right up your alley!! It was created since I got booted from an apex server for posting noncon so it's to protect us fans who the purity police deem problematic. Nothing is too far and there's specifically a blacklist channel for those of us who love the nastiest of the nasty. :D if the link doesnt cooporate, lemme know and I'll find a way to send it to you ^^  
> https://discord.gg/xNkTyCV
> 
>  
> 
> This is my version of the "transfer student at new school is hot" trope hope you like it.

The email came early in the morning. Elliott groaned and rolled over on his side, one hand rubbing sleep from his eyes and the other blindly groping the bedsheets to find his phone. He turned it on and loudly cursed as the light fried his eyes and illuminated the room with the sterile white glow. Taking a moment for the burning behind his eyelids to subside Elliott hauled himself up to a sitting position and stretched, sighing as his back and shoulders cracked in protest. With a yawn he unlocked his phone and swiped through a seemingly endless horde of notifications trying to find the damn email that had woken him up at five in the morning. They were mostly social media updates and concerned friends asking where he’d been and if he could dragged his lazy butt out of bed to hang out. He snorted seeing a message with particularly colorful language and typed out some half assed excuse about being sick and not wanting to give anyone the plague. The strings of playful insults brought a smile to his cheeks which in turn tugged on the stitches and brought back the tired glower. There was no way he was seeing any of his friends until everything had healed lest he risk his ribs being crushed further in bear hugs. 

He found the message at the bottom of everything sent from the official committee that was in charge of keeping tabs on the champions and giving out updates or inquiries about their plans if they decided to sign up again. He was expecting a pre-typed out message about his health, but was surprised upon opening the email to find it wasn’t anything like that at all. In big, bolded letters in the subject line it red, “To all Champions, Important Arena Updates”. 

_ To whom it may concern _

_ Creators of the games and the Chief of Media are pleased to inform you of new and exciting structures launching this weekend for the arena. To shake up the monotony, thanks to our sponsors, the committee has decided to add new systems and structures underneath the already existing zones currently in the arena. The first to be announced and exhibited for the next games taking place is a large, subterranean network of caves and underground water sources.  _

_ We’ve decided to allow former Champions to sign up first and have more experienced legends so the audience will get an especially thrilling viewpoint of the new areas. Enclosed is a link to get first access. The reward for this round of the games is doubled and more care packages will be dropped outside the new developments as well as more crates inside and hidden among the passages. Teams will be randomly assigned and the option to drop solo has been temporarily revoked for this round.  _

_ Thank you, and we hope to see you in the arena, _

_ -Apex Staff _

Elliott frowned. A cave system? People must have been getting bored with the current environment or the company just wanted to spice things up for themselves. It seemed strange to him but they had to get the prize money from somewhere and a lower view count meant it would be harder to attract new legends to play. 

_ Double the prize money though? Christ that would be enough to fund Mom for years… _

He felt a pang in his chest at the thought of his mother who he hadn’t spoken to in a couple of months at least. She hadn’t gotten him in a body bag yet that she was probably still worried sick. As much as he loved the attention and was grateful for the suit she’d made him, something in his chest still hurt and worried about what would happen to her if he got taken out. When his brothers had all disappeared she’d tried to hide it but he knew how much it hurt by how she’d nearly smothered herself in work to avoid thinking about it. She got plenty of money from companies and the military but that all had to be poured into the holo work she did. If he could pull this win off even as rusty as he was, the spotlight would stay on him and she’d be better off too. 

Rubbing his temples Elliott sighed and glanced back up at the phone in his lap which still stung his eyes. It wasn’t really an option. Assuming he survived to the end the ring would force them into the caverns at some point and he wasn’t naive enough to hope otherwise. He didn’t know all the other champions but some would be more at home there than others. An idea popped into his head. He needed to do some research on all of the champions he could think of so at least they wouldn’t have the advantage of ignorance on his part. Most had cult like followings and information on most of them was plastered on every message board and social media site one could think of. 

_ Well, most of them anyway… _

Elliott shook the thought out of his head and brushed the curls of hair from his eyes. He didn’t have time to think about them right now. It wouldn’t be long until the available spots filled up and he had to read quickly or it wouldn’t matter anyway. Irritated by his own distracted mind he swiped his phone from his lap and started thumbing through every webpage that had even a sliver of information on the champions. Anita he was familiar with. They’d paired together in squads before and the girl was a tank that he really didn’t want to run into. He’d seen her skills first hand and it was terrifying to think he’d be on the receiving end of them. Other names floated by, a healer, some junkie, a giant man who looked like he could break Elliott in half. One caught his attention and he cursed under his breath. 

Caustic, a newcomer who’d been the subject of a lot of controversy in the news and among other players due to his complete disdain for pretty much anything with a pulse. He didn’t care about his teammates or their safety and cared even less if they got caught in one of his gas traps. He’d heard horror stories about the gases he brought into the ring. It was never the same one twice and they’d done everything from melting legends into the ground to freezing any skin it came into contact with and made moving impossible. There wasn’t really a counter for his gas traps or homemade grenades that he’d heard of and the only real strategy he knew of was to avoid houses or enclosed spaces of any kind which meant dealing with the constant danger of being in the open. An underground cave network would be a dream come true for the man and complete Hell for anyone who got there after he did. There was no guarantee he’d sign up but Elliott had a strong feeling it would be too good an opportunity for him to pass it up. 

_ It doesn’t matter. Gas or not, I need to go _

Something else wormed its way into his head too quickly for him to squash. 

_ They might be there _

Elliott placed a hand on his cheek and brushed the scar on the corner of his mouth. If Bloodhound was going to show up and they had to face off he didn’t know if he could win. They were fast, incredibly strong, and a better marksman than he’d ever known. They knew the tricks of his holo gear but he knew nothing about their abilities. He didn’t want to kill Bloodhound or have someone else kill them but he wasn’t quite sure why. Maybe it was the questions he’d had brewing in his mind since that day in the arena and that had been amplified after the night in the alley. Simple questions, but ones he feared he’d never get the answer to. Why him? Why were they so brutal yet called him a sweet name? How could they be so brutal? Just... why?

Elliott took in a deep breath and opened up the email. He clicked the link and signed his name before he could think twice and threw his phone on his bed. The sleeve of his suit poked out from his closet like some phantom arm grasping for him. He shuddered, and went to lay back down in bed. He’d need all his strength if he was going to come out of this one alive. 

~

Elliott couldn’t help but feel like a cow on the way to the slaughterhouse as the officials called out legends names and announced their teams. They were all separated into rooms to keep an air of suspense and wouldn’t meet before they were filed into the drop ship and sent off to die. Once paired up they’d have a couple of minutes to gather their thoughts and talk battle plans they’d be fitted with packs and minor shields to stop their ankles from snapping upon impact with the ground. It still knocked the air from your lungs but as long as you didn’t land near other people you’d have enough time to recover and start scrounging for gear. He’d done it a thousand times but it still sparked a bit of fear that the jumpmaster would land somewhere hot and he’d be gunned down for first blood. 

Banishing the rising nerves he looked to the door and willed it to open. Someone would retrieve him when it was time but it felt like it had been hours already. He was hot in his suit and must have looked silly to the ones watching the security feeds tapping his feet and fingers against any surface to distract from his head. Though the risks of playing with close friends were much higher if they didn’t make it it at least gave him someone to talk to to pass the time before the drop. Legends were injected with small tracker that doubled as an injection site for whatever cocktail of drugs they were shot up with when they went down. If they were beyond teammates healing them the long list of chemicals would at least keep them breathing for a few minutes to allow them to be respawned and if that finally failed they were screwed. It had in recent competitions at least, become a tool that actually made their lives harder. Due to the rise in popularity of more gruesome deaths and executions it meant the torturer could prolong the suffering and do things, albeit for a brief moment, that would usually kill them immediately. He’d heard from another champion that it kept some poor bastard alive while they’d peeled back the skin of his face. They’d also been given a small bracelet that showed their teammates shields and could pull up a map if they got turned around.

A creak at the door drew his attention as a small woman gestured down the hallway, “This way Mr. Witt, your squad is waiting for you.”

He smothered a sigh of relief and followed her down the hall. The clicking of her heels quickly got on his already frayed nerves and he had to bite his tongue to keep calm. It wasn’t her fault he could potentially be going to his death and wouldn’t know it. It also wasn’t her fault that that death could come from his lungs liquifying from breathing in gas, but the incessant noise still grated on his ears nonetheless. 

The room was already packed with other teams chatting away in the hot air that came with bodies packed in room. Some were laughing or cracking jokes with a serious sense of gallows humor, and he couldn’t blame them. Others were scowling and ignoring each other while pretending to check watches or inspect the water stains on the ceiling. They looked like the bastards crazy enough to drop solo and ignore their squad unless they were in dire need of aid. Elliott had fought with enough of them on his team and they were his least favorite by far since they ruined everyone else’s chances of making it home that night. He also had fought with enough people who’d happily leave those types to bleed out as punishment for their desertion and he didn’t blame them. Aside from the impossible feat of running from the relay to skull town in under two minutes he’d had enough of them immediately turn around and get brained because they tried to pick a fight with a sniper when they had a pistol, so it wasn’t worth it. 

The women pushed her way through crowds until she stopped and presented him with an empty spot on the wall. “We’ve had a smaller amount of sign-ups than we anticipated and you were drawn to drop with only one other champion who will be brought to you shortly. Good luck Mr. Witt.”

She disappeared into the crowd before he could sputter any protests. This was great. Perfect, really. Now not only was he going to have to watch his back even more, if they got separated they were probably fucked entirely. He cursed himself for signing up when he’d known this could happen. He’d need a miracle to pull through and live to smile at the cameras another day, but the universe had been really screwing him over lately so he didn’t get his hopes up. A few champions glanced at him excitedly, eyes wide in admiration that they’d be about to speak to the legendary Mirage, but when they saw the look in his eyes they closed their mouths and turned away. He was too busy fuming to notice how the crowd had almost silenced completely. Laughter was overtaken by frantic shushing and whispered ripped through the crowd like an infection. By the time he looked up and took note of the hush the crowd parted in the middle, almost by some invisible force that beckoned them back. He saw his eyes reflected in that same smoky glass that had haunted him for weeks now, and his stomach twisted up in fear for a brief moment. 

Bloodhound stood in front of him, silent as a ghost but with the presence of a behemoth. The mechanical breathing seemed to fill the entire room and no one dared speak and break the spell that had fallen on everyone present. Before Elliott could pluck a word from the myriad of things he wanted to say the buzzer signaling the drop time sounded. Everyone shuffled towards the door while he felt frozen in place. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could choke out something coherent Bloodhound raised a single gloved finger to the mouthpiece on their mask. They gestured towards the door and turned to walk towards it. Fearing being left behind Elliott snapped out of his stupor and scrambled after the masked figure like a confused child following a parent. 

-

Elliott winced when he heard his knees crack as he hit the riverbed hard. He’d been jolted off course by the wind last minute and had failed to hit the door he’d aimed for to break it down and save a few seconds scrambling to find a gun. Shaking off the impact he got to his feet and hopped up the walkway, pulling himself up and over the wood walls. The ground was littered with bits of energy attachments and shield batteries but all he could find that was useful was a pair of arc stars and scout rifle with no scope. Up the stairs he was relieved to find a backpack and shoved every box of ammunition he could find in the pouches. Up further still was an energy shield that shone blue and a revolver with no extra rounds. He holstered the revolver and hopped down from the second story, eyes darting from the top of the hills to other houses not far off. It was impossible to not feel watched despite the companies best attempts to hid the cameras even though legends knew they were in every corner. Whether it was some fat CEO or a guy crouched behind a boulder the feeling was still uneasy. He hadn’t seen another squad land near them but Bloodhound had been among the first to drop and it was hard to look around while flying through the air. The hunter was gliding from rock to rock in the water so they wouldn’t disturb the surface and get their boots wet. He was entranced watching the way they moved and the effortlessness of it all. They didn’t seem to even touch the ground but instead floating from shore to shore. From the distance he could make out some kind heavy gun strapped to their back but couldn’t hear it clanking against the gear they wore. They also didn’t seem intent on waiting for him to catch up and were jogging towards artillery. 

Artillery was Elliott’s second least favorite place to land outside of bunker pass, which they’d have to pass to get there. They were aggressive legends dream landing spots since they were always hot and easy to get a lot of good gear fast. Bunker’s door was closed but that didn’t mean there weren’t people inside waiting to hose whoever ran by with bullets. Bloodhound was checking over their shoulders to look for anyone creeping up or throwing open doors while Elliott cursed his legs for already getting achy and tried to keep up. Gunshots sounded in the distance and Elliott poured on more speed to stop from being left behind. He was confused why Bloodhound hadn’t even acknowledged his existence since they paired up. They hadn’t gestured towards him or spoken, Hell they hadn’t even really looked at him which just served to piss Elliott off. Something smelled fishy about the whole situation. The odds of them getting paired up out of sixty other people weren’t great which made him wonder if Bloodhound hadn’t done something to skew the results in their favor. On a level it made sense since if he died they couldn’t carry out their cryptic promise, but on another it only confused him more why they were ignoring him. 

When focussed on his surroundings again he was at one of the entrances to artillery but Bloodhound wasn’t in front of him. 

_ They must have gone further ahead into a building… _

Elliott stepped into the entrance hall and raised the scout rifle to his cheek in case someone decided to start taking pot shots at him. As he stepped further in he felt something grab a firm hold of his collar and yank him backwards off his feet. Before he could cry for help a hand clamped down over his mouth and squeezed his jaw so tightly it creaked. He was pulled into the shadows of an alcove dug into the wall and tried to twist frantically to escape whoever had grabbed him. His heart calmed for a minute when he saw Bloodhounds mask above him, but started beating again when he started to think about what was happening. He squeezed his eyes shut and prepared to brace against an oncoming fist or kick to the back of his knees. Maybe they’d pin him to the wall again but this time make a scene out of it, or fuck him in front of one of the cameras and broadcast his shame. Most surprising of any of the possibilities he dreamed up was the fact that Bloodhound did nothing besides hold him close to their chest and stretched their head to the entrance way. Elliott felt a blush creep onto his cheeks at the sudden closeness and how he noted that the hunter smelled like woodsmoke and rain. 

Bloodhound let him go a moment too soon. He opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but was cut off by a quiet footstep scraping the concrete. Before he had time to raise his rifle Bloodhound had already snatched the poor girls arm and pulled her into the shadows. She didn’t have time to call out or even breathe before the knife had plunged into her throat and she was choking on her own blood. Bloodhounds aim had been perfect judging by the fountain of blood that errupted when they withdrew the knife and wiped the blade on the back of their glove. It was clearly a practiced movement seeing as how it was over in mere moments. Elliott tried to speak again but they thrust their hand towards his face and jammed their thumb into his mouth. The girls blood was warm but he couldn’t spit it out or pull away, not with the hunter pressing him into the wall. Their fingers rested on his cheek as they slowly slid their thumb in and out of his mouth, rubbing whatever blood he didn’t clean off around his lips. Bloodhound dipped their finger into the blood on their glove and painted a small stripe under Elliott’s eye, then patted his cheek and turned towards the hall the girl had come from. They checked quickly for anyone who’d followed her and dashed off again towards the bunkers. Considering how careful they’d been up until that point it was surprising since girl didn’t look the type to drop alone, but Elliott saw the faint green glow of two respawn banners attached to her hip and understood. Blood squelched under his boots as he walked away from the cooling corpse, the eerie green light dying out as he walked. 

-

“Look, hey, look I’m sorry but this is fucking nuts.”

Bloodhound stopped as Elliott grabbed their shoulder in as strong a grip as he could manage, but didn’t turn around to meet his gaze. “The caves are exactly where they want us and there’s too many players left. I don’t care if you have some psycho death wish but I need to walk out of here in one piece.”

The sudden outburst was a surprise to even Elliott. When they’d spotted one of the cave entrances tucked behind a wall of pipes something had shaken him. He was scared, but a different kind. Whether he sounded like a scared child or not he didn’t care, he didn’t want to die down in the dark like a cornered animal and for his mother to deal with whatever scrapings they managed from the dirt. He hated the dark, he hated closed spaces, and he hated the idea of being down there with whatever this person was and god only knew what other psychopaths had camped out down there. Bloodhound scared the Hell out of him but dying scared him even more and at the current time and place one was more likely to kill him than another. They didn’t shift at all and Elliott couldn’t even see them move when they should have been breathing. The longer the silence continued the more shaky his hands got and the less resolve he had. Doubts and regrets flooded his brain, desperate for an answer or for the hunter to do anything, literally anything but stand there silent as a statue. 

“Forgotten my warnings so soon?”

When their voice broke the tension in the air it was like rubbing salt in a wound. Smokey glass turned to see his face and in their reflection Elliott saw the color drain from his face. “N-no. I-i’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I just, please I don’t know why I-”

“Forgotten both of them. I will do better so that they may stick next time.”

“God, no. Look please I can’t go down there. I can’t, I just can’t.”

Bloodhound lifted his hand off their shoulder and turned back to face the entrance, “You speak like you have a choice in this.”

They forged on ahead without a hint of fear into the caves leaving Elliott in the dust. Gunshots in the distance grew louder. Whoever had been fighting were gaining on them, and without a partner he’d be as good as dead. Elliott turned and tore down the steps carved into the rock, desperate to not be left behind. Immediately a damp chill settled on him, sinking all the way into his bones and into his blood. Everything smelled wet and water dripped from the cracks in the ceiling. Dim, flickering yellow lights ran along the walls with exposed wires crackling adding to the ambience of the cave. It was light enough to see a few feet ahead, but dark enough that every shadow could be someone hiding and every droplet of rain could be hiding footsteps. The passages were narrow with barely room for two people to walk abreast if they were both slim. Height would be a hindrance as much as weight since they couldn’t have been much taller than a door frame. Breathing echoed as much as footsteps with every stone kicked ringing in his ears. 

“I see you came.”

Elliott nearly jumped and smacked his head on the roof of the passageway when he heard the voice. Bloodhound materialized from a shadowed corner up ahead and waved them forward. “There are two squads ahead. Be ready to push.”

The champion in him stood at attention as he checked to make sure everything with his gun looked proper. Bloodhound terrorizing him or not he needed to live through this, and a firefight was even more dangerous when you didn’t know what the others were carrying. His suit was charged so at least he could throw out decoys if he got in a tight spot. The pair crept forward into the tunnel until a room came into view at the end. It had the same dim lighting as the hall which made seeing more than a few feet inside impossible. Anyone could be hiding around a corner or aiming down the hallway and they wouldn’t know. Rushing seemed like a poor decision since he couldn’t even see who to charge. Whatever the plan was, Bloodhound was fiddling with some kind of dial on their wrist, hidden under the glove. Something clicked, and their head snapped up as a yellow ring of light shot from beneath them. It moved almost too fast to see but Elliott followed it and saw silhouette’s of red flash in front of him. They were bodies he realized. Whatever device they’d cooked up highlighted the people who probably thought they were snug and could destroy anyone who wandered in. Bloodhound had said two squads, but only four people lit up in his vision. They seemed far enough off that if they ran quietly they could have an advantage. Elliott turned to Bloodhound and nodded. The hunter pointed to Elliott’s own bracelet and he understood. He sent out a prayer and let loose a hologram in a random direction. The minute it was out of sight they bolted. Stepping into the room, something felt wrong. Like the wrong when he’d been trapped in the alleyway, but Bloodhound was right beside him, not sneaking around in the shadows. 

When the air began to burn his eyes and fill his lungs with smoke, Elliott knew what was wrong. 

Something snagged his foot and he stumbled, hitting his knees on something that cracked. 

A body. A body with exposed bones from where the flesh had melted off and pooled in the ground around them. He’d just dug his knee into someones ribcage. 

The air thickened and burned his eyes enough that it became too painful to keep them open. He tried to find the goggles on his head but they’d bounced off his head somewhere when he fell. The hiss of the gas surrounded him and he could only blindly swing his hand at anything he thought moved. His revolver was still tucked in his holster but he didn’t know if he was aiming up or down. The gas started searing his skin like someone had poured a kettle of boiling water all over his face and neck. Flight began to take over and he scrambled to his knees to crawl away from the toxic air. Exertion just made him breathe harder and bring the burning into his lungs and chest. He managed to get to his feet and take a step in the first spot he could find, intent of running to a wall and feeling his way out of the cloud. 

The bullet that pierced his side had other ideas. 

He screamed as it tore through the shield and his flesh by his hip bone like paper and the torturous gas seeped into the wound. He fell to his knees and pushed his hands to the hole, trying to stem the bleeding and keep away the offending gas. Blood soaked his hands and sleeves as he cried out and ground his teeth against the pain. Others had started screaming too, crying out for their teammates to save them when no one was coming. Shots fired from too close were followed by curses and the sounds of glass shattering. For a moment he feared it was Bloodhound taking a bullet to the eye but he heard something much heavier fall to the ground near his head. It writhed and kicked catching him in the shoulder with a thud. Two more shots sounded and the flailing stopped. It was quiet for a moment until his crying filled the air again. Familiar breathing was in his ear and he was dragged by the collar to somewhere in the distance. This time he didn’t fight just grateful to be away from the fire in his blood. Bloodhound threw him forward and he cracked his head against the wall, but the air didn’t turn to fire in his throat. Water splashed over his face and he opened his eyes to wash the pain away. 

Bloodhound knelt in front of him tilting his head upwards to pour water over his face. They paused for a moment to check for any wounds on his face before pulling back for a second. They wound their fists into his shirt collar and hauled him up easily as a baby kitten, pushing him into the rock again and staring. That deceptive strength showed again as Elliott’s feet cleared the ground and they held him with a single hand. Their free hand rests on his hip near the bullet hole and they didn’t break the stare. Though he couldn’t their eyes he could feel the anger pouring off of them in waves. “You panicked.”

It wasn’t an accusation, just a statement of fact filled with enough venom he wished they’d throw him back into the cloud. “I didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t see anything. It hurt too much.”

His answer seemed to anger them further and their fingers brushed the bullet hole on both sides. Even the lightest touches were nearly unbearable and the rough grips on their gloves tugged the skin wherever they touched. “You panicked and endangered us both. Kærr I expect better from you. Now I need to do this here, and it is your fault.” 

Their fingers pushed past the entrances of the wounds and worked their way into the hole. They wriggled and wormed their way further past the muscle and into his abdomen with little effort. The grit of the gloves scraped against the torn flesh and he nearly threw up at the sucking sounds that emanated from their fingers squishing inside the hole. Screaming was all he could manage as the fingers slid deeper and deeper, pulling back out and pushing in with growing force. When they’d pull their fingers in front out their thumb in the back dug back in never giving him a moment to breathe. Each movement ruptured the wound more and more blood ran down and stained the leg of his pants. Every time he managed to suck in air it just came back out as a howl of pain and with each scream they pushed harder. Elliott looked up to the roof of the cave and sobbed, begging for something to hear him and take pity and to stop this agony.

Bloodhound withdrew their hand and let Elliott fall to the floor. He waited for the assault to continue but a shot exploded the rock by his face missing by mere inches. A duo stood in one of the hallways with both pointing their weapons at him. A rumbled sounded, something feral that came from deep in Bloodhounds chest. They didn’t seem as composed as usual and Elliott kicked at the dirt to try back up further from the beast. Smoky glass flared blood red as they lowered their head and curled their hands into fists. With inhuman speed they charged towards the two seemingly heedless of the danger. They stepped around the bullets effortlessly and grabbed the barrel of one gun and yanked it forward. The man was pulled off balance and Bloodhound raised an elbow and brought it down hard on his temple. Like a tornado they whirled around and punched the other square in the nose and he dropped like a brick. Without looking they fired a shot into the lung of the first man and stomped the other in the head. While one man gasped the other was silenced by the wet crunching as Bloodhound crushed his head into the dirt with every fall of his boot. His head burst like a rotten fruit but they didn’t stop until it was nothing but mushy piles of tissue. They spun and pressed their foot into the others neck, applying more pressure until their neck snapped and they stopped wheezing. 

Elliott just sat and watched in horror at the heaving creature. They shook out their hand and wiped the gore from their shoes on one of their shirts. A loud buzzer sounded from hidden speakers, signaling the end of the match. 

_ They must have been the last ones left and not even realized what as down here _

Bloodhound turned back and walked slowly towards Elliott, red still flashing behind the glass. He tried to scramble backwards but they ate up the distance too fast. They ripped their lower mask from their face and let it hang around their neck as the spit at the ground in a last demonstration of anger. The hard line of their mouth softed when they looked down at him and offered a hand. He wanted to smack it away but thought better catching a glimpse of the carnage in the hall. They helped him to his feet and gently pushed his head against their shoulder, wrapping him in a hug. Elliott was overwhelmed with fear and adrenaline and everything he could imagine. He felt like he was about to explode and just cried into the hunter’s shoulder. He didn’t want to let go, even when they put their lips to his ear and whispered. 

“This was your fault Kærr. You did this because you ran off. I had to protect you.”

They cupped his head with both hands and kissed his forehead, “I will protect you Kærr. Always.”

Elliott didn’t care what words slithered into his mind. He just clung to them too scared to let go. Whether it was because he was scared of what they’d do or what he’d do without them, he wasn’t quite sure. But when they pressed their cold lips to his, he kissed back, hoping to keep them with him for a moment longer before they disappeared again. When they dipped their fingers into the bloody hole in his stomach and licked the blood off, he tasted it again in their mouth. And when they broke off and kissed his cheek, he wished it hadn’t ended. 

**Author's Note:**

> SO I was gone for like two weeks. My bad. I got super super sick and had to go to the hospital and because I'm Canadian I was there for like five hours to find out I had a viral infection/was badly dehydrated and there was nothing they could do aside from giving me an IV :) So yeah wasn't up to writing so I made this one longer hope thats okay. 
> 
> I know the first two parts were much more violently sexual and I'm gonna get back into that I swear I just wanted to write something a bit different considering I've not written for two weeks and needed to practice again. I've got a bit of story worked out in my head I just gotten figure out an end. 
> 
> Also I fully blame Divinity Original Sin 2 and Starkid (TGWDLM I'm looking at you specifically) because I've done nothing but put like 56 hours into that game. It's great and the lizard is my husband right with Beast. 
> 
> Again super sorry this took two weeks I hope its good and thanks for sticking with me through my crappy health.


End file.
